a bleeding purple utah jazz blog

Off-Day Odds and Ends

“I practiced that shot last year with Quin. That was the one he was always trying to get me to work on. It’s a little ironic that the first time I shoot it, it’s tonight.” (AJC)

Quin Snyder on Korver’s quote:

(laughs) Someone told me that, and I was really upset. I got mad. I’m thinking, “Kyle, why did you have to choose us?” ‘Cause he wouldn’t do it last year.

W–the whole theory for him is w–you know, just back up. And sure enough, he backed up. And I wish he would’ve started doing that last year and given us a break before we come back.

So anyway, I’m happy for him and obviously disappointed that he picked the wrong time to do that. (1280)

Two. Quin Snyder, asked how he handles player shooting slumps like the one Trey Burke has been in:

You know, I think you, it depends on the situation or the player. I think early on, we just ignored it. You know, you think, I don’t think Trey’s the kinda guy that is gonna suffer confidence-wise, but you’re paying attention a little bit to, you know, what is, what are the external factors that we’re noticing, where you’re not ignoring it entirely.

You’re just, sometimes those things, players figure ’em out, and you know, you intervene too quickly and you actually don’t help the problem. I think some of it, for him, is he started to, he missed a few, had a few tough shooting nights, and then started to press a little bit. Maybe took some shots that were not as good shots, which obviously, you know, taking contested shots, they’re harder to make.

So, we did, we sat down and watched some film of him in the preseason. You know, just a little bit ago, he was, you know, gosh, he shot it about 50 percent or something from three. It was terrific.

And then the other thing you wanna talk to him about is, you know, there’s lots of ways to impact the game, and last night, you know, he still didn’t shoot it great from three, but I thought had a much more solid game and distributed the ball.

And sometimes, when you take, you know, in your own mind, you take the pressure off making every shot and do some other things, defend and you know, and lead and things like that, pretty soon you’re making shots too. So that’s, you’ve gotta come at it from a few angles. (1280)

Three. Gordon Hayward, after the Indiana game:

I mean, I think wherever we go, we believe in ourselves and kind of expect to win, which is a big difference than last year, you know? And so, as long as we play the way we’re capable of playing, you know, we can compete with any team in this league.

I definitely have a different feeling about this team than some of our other recent teams. Any given game, I feel like we have a chance to win, and I kind of expect that if we play well, we will win. That’s kind of the mindset of the whole team. In previous years, that wasn’t necessarily the case. We believe in ourselves a lot more than we did in the past.

Conversation between Craig Bolerjack and DJ/PK today on 1280:

Boler:
What I actually sense, there’s more of an attitude of, like, “Could’ve, we should’ve really won”…I really believe that’s a totally different mindset than last year…I see an improvement, I really do, from a year ago, in the attitude that they bring after a loss.

DJ/PK:
You think the light has been turned on for Gordon Hayward?

Boler:
There is, the light is on. There seems to be more of an urgency and a confidence, PK, that rides with him. I think you probably see it as well, and I think most fans do. He’s a different guy. … I like his attitude, and I like the way that he looks at the media, not down-eyes-casted, but more direct. And I think that’s big when you’re dealing with the media, and actually, again, he’s talking to the fans. I think that he’s taken a whole new approach and a whole new role.

DJ/PK:
The number one thing for me you didn’t mention, I just think his attitude, his mood, to me it’s like a fog is lifted. He didn’t want to play for Ty[rone Corbin]. He did not want to play for Ty. He didn’t believe in Ty. [Maybe] he should’ve taken more responsibility and he shouldn’t have been blaming other people and all that, but the fact is he didn’t think they could win with [Corbin]. He thinks they can win with [Quin Snyder], and it’s just changed his whole mood.

Boler:
Both were lame ducks, if you ha–if you really want to break it down even more. … We knew after the All-Star break when no extension was offered, DJ, that Ty was done. He knew it. Gordon knew it. [Hayward’s] contract was in flux. And so, you put those two together, and you’ve got some issues. And the way the Jazz would lose, I, you’re right. There was a cloud, a dark cloud hanging over him. And it seems to have been, I know it’s cliche-ish, but you know, I think he’s play–and again, it goes back to what Quin Snyder asked him to do earlier in this season at camp, was play free. Have some fun. Show passion. Show yourself and the fans that you really enjoy this game. And I think I see that.

Four. How tall is too tall?Gordon Hayward: Rudy’s pushing too tall.Derrick Favors: I saw Yao Ming one time in person when I, my rookie year. He was, like, 7-5, or something like that. I was like, “Man, that’s a tall guy.”Toure Murry: Above 7 feet.Trey Burke: 7-5, 7-4.Rudy Gobert: 7-5 is very, very tall…It’s too tall. Pro–people when they see me, probably say the same.Ian Clark: Rudy Gobert.Alec Burks: Rudy’s too tall…I couldn’t deal with being that tall.Dante Exum: Probably 7-2.Trevor Booker: 6-10.Jeremy Evans: 7-1.Rodney Hood: It’s a guy named Sim Bhullar.Enes Kanter: Probably around, like, 7-3, 7-4.Steve Novak: As long as you can get up and down the court, in the game of basketball I think the taller the better. (Utah Jazz)

Five. How did you pick your jersey number?Gordon Hayward: Liked watching Ray Allen and Manu Ginobili growing up.Alec Burks: Wore No. 11 in high school, which was taken at Colorado, so he went to No. 10.Toure Murry: No. 23 was his college number, and he’s worn it ever since.Dante Exum: No. 7 was retired with the Jazz, and No. 11 was the first number he wore with the Australian national team.Steve Novak: Son’s birthday is July 16, so he’s worn No. 16 since his son was born.Rudy Gobert: Was the 27th draft pick. Motivation.Trey Burke: Wears No. 3 for the Holy Trinity, and was a fan of Allen Iverson growing up.Ian Clark: Chose No. 21 because he can play both the “two” and the “one.”Trevor Booker: No. 35 is retired with the Jazz. No. 33 is his younger brother’s basketball number.Derrick Favors: Wears No. 15 because his birthday is July 15.Jeremy Evans: Wanted to wear No. 22 in high school, but it was taken. No. 40 was the only number left.Enes Kanter: When he entered the NBA, his mom told him he has to stay humble even if he becomes the best player in the world. No. 0 means staying humble.Rodney Hood: Picked No. 5 because there are five people in his immediate family. When he plays, he has them in his heart. (Utah Jazz)